Ten Democrats voted alongside 209 Republicans to pass a House resolution Wednesday condemning the Biden-Harris Administration’s handling of the botched Afghanistan withdrawal on August 26, 2021.
The resolution, which condemns the “decisionmaking and execution failures” that took place during the Afghanistanwithdrawal, passed the House in a 219-194 vote. The resolution calls out 15 Biden-Harris Administration officials for the “failures” that facilitated the Abbey Gate suicide bombing that resulted in the death of 13 American servicemen.
“More than three years after the withdrawal from Afghanistan, President Biden, Vice President Harris have yet to hold a single person accountable for this catastrophic failure of epic proportions,” House Foreign Affairs Chairman Michael McCaul testified before the House Rules Committee on Monday.
“If the administration refuses to hold itself accountable, then the duly elected representatives of the American people must,” McCaul continued.
“More than three years after the withdrawal from Afghanistan, President Biden and Vice President Harris have yet to hold a single person accountable for this catastrophic failure of epic proportions.”
CHM @RepMcCaul testified before @RulesReps in support of his legislation to… pic.twitter.com/FWW5FIc585
— House Foreign Affairs Committee Majority (@HouseForeignGOP) September 23, 2024
The resolution condemns President Joe Biden, Vice President Kamala Harris, National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan, White House National Security Communications Adviser John Kirby, former White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki, Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin among other administration officials.
“When asked just this month if there had been any accountability for the disastrous withdrawal, National Security Advisor Kirby responded, ‘We’ve all held ourselves accountable,’” McCaul said during his testimony. “That answer doesn’t fool anybody.”
Biden’s botched withdrawal resulted in roughly 170 civilian deaths in addition to the 13 American troops, as well as the abandonment of $7 billion worth of military equipment that has fallen into the possession of the Taliban. Matthew Miller, a spokesperson for the Biden-Harris State Department, called the withdrawal the “correct policy choice” just two days after the Gold Star families criticized the administration in August 2023.
Leading up to the withdrawal, multiple White House officials like Blinken and Psaki, as well as the president himself, went on vacation, according to Franklin Foer’s book released in 2023. Biden was seen checking his watch while awaiting for the 13 fallen soldiers to return from overseas.
The House Foreign Affairs Committee released a 354 page report on Sept. 9 detailing the failures within the Biden-Harris administration that led to the disastrous withdrawal.
The report found that the Biden-Harris administration failed to properly adhere to recommendations from NATO and senior military officials, ignored conditions in the Doha Agreement, bypassed pleas from the Afghani government and “directly lied to the American people” about the events that transpired during the withdrawal.
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